Wednesday, December 20, 2006

The Head Shave!!!

update (23 Dec 2006):Ok, found out that connection that looks like a usb is a firewire, often used for transferring videos, which I don't have on my poor old scrubby pc. However, having spoken to my sister, it might be possible to put the video cartridge another camcorder, and transfer it to the pc that way. If worst comes to worst, and I can't find anyone beforehand, I might be able to do it after Christmas, when my sister comes a-visiting.Really sorry for the delay!

update (21 Dec 2006):

Sorry guys- I've just had the video out, and realise I have the wrong connections on my computer for putting it up here - I'm going to have to get some advice on this, and it may take a while. I'll get the video up as soon as I know how to do it... It's worth waiting for - the atmosphere in the hall was brilliant!!

I'm afraid you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the video - Got to get it first on the pc, then onto Utube (and they take a while to OK it!), but until then, here's some pics to go on with! :-D

Going on Stage - the Evil teacher takes a hostageand is going to shave her head as punishment

An wicked cackle fills the air, as the teacher takes the clippers to the hostage's head

Here it goes...and the minions sweep the floor,not daring to leave any evidence

Head back to get to grips with the scalp

The shorn-off hair is thrown onto the hostage's lap

Only one last bit...

That's about it!

No, Oh No! Put my hair back on my head!!!

Yahay! It's all over! Let me outta here!

The Evil teacher (Heta Lumsden) and the tortured hostage

Wearing the Mickey Mouse Santa hat - oops, no one told me it was on crooked!

More thanks? Yup.

This time not for financial support. I have some thanks to give for moral and emotional support....

First to my friend and colleague, Pip Brett, who fanned the initial enthusiasm from a little spark into the full blown fire. She's had to put up with my rantings, my frantics, my bouncing ideas off her (she has the classroom next to my prep room, so there was no escape), and also, we have Pip to thank for standing throughout the head-shave itself, and taking all the photos (else we'd have nothing to look at just now, whilst I'm waiting to sort out the videos!!)

Also, to my other workmates - Liz, Karen and Lynne for being so darned patient with me, and boosting me up when I thought no-one was going to sponsor me :-) They also had to put up with a lot of erratisism in the last month... and they put up with me magnanimously! That goes for Iain too, who has the classroom on the other side to me...

And thanks also to my sister, Helen, who had to pull me out of the doldrums when I started to doubt whether I could make a difference, and for checking up my blog virtually every day giving me moral support. It helped!

And thanks to everyone who's visited here regularly over the last couple of months (you know who you are :-D ), leaving messages to let me know I wasn't doing this alone - especially when I was ill, and had little contact with anyone else - you saved my sanity!

And thanks to everyone else, who either came up with ideas, or pushed me a little further, or encouraged me to speak out in front of assemblies (not something I'm a natural at!) and for those who took initiative to make collections on their own - you were all fantastic.

But best of all are my kids!!! (how could they not be!!?!). I was really worried about their reaction to my being bald, and not only being bald, but doing the shave in front of the whole school where they attended. They might have been embarrassed. They might not have wanted me to do it. That would have put me in a right old quandry, because their feelings come tops. They not only encouraged me - they teased me; they wanted to know how I was doing, they encouraged their friends, they got involved, and donated their small change pocket money. In fact, they were brilliant! And they have continued to be afterwards. They had a laugh over my bald head, tried on my wigs and continued to check how the fundraising's going!

I also want to thank Mrs Edmonds for allowing me to carry out the fundraising and event in the school.

I'm sure there's more I haven't mentioned yet, so I'll say a big thank you to everyone!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

1 day... Bald-Eve

Ok, only going to say a couple of words...

yoikes!

Yoikes again!

(Anyone got a place to hide?????)

Going for a run in a few hours, to wear of some of the nervous energy. It's not just nervousness though. There's an excitement to it too... In less than 15 hours my hair will be whipped off my head - by drama teacher, Heta Lumsden (who was the only person brave enough to agree to do it in the end).... It will be a new era. You have no idea!

I'm already thinking differently. Like a person who has no hair, whose hair no longer dictates who I am. I'm even considering keeping no hair... because I'm realising I'm more than just my image. I'm more than a hairstyle, or face make-up. I am me. An inner me. Not just the me I project to the world. And I kinda like that me, and in that realisation can bear the thought of having myself exposed in the most dramatic, but baring way...

There's part of me that's scared of getting all emotional, and bursting into tears on stage. But there's also part of me that wants to shout out "It's just hair! It's not me!"

But, I also know I'm doing it out of choice, and it's not permenent. It will grow back (if I choose to let it).... although I'm hearing from a lot of people that it might grow back completely different than it is now. Some say it will grow back thickly, some say curly, some say it will be all grey, some say it will be soft... Well, whatever.... it is for me to find out. I'll let you know :-D

More than that, I know I'm shaving my head of all it's 73cm of hair for a very very good cause! If there isn't research, then what hope for the future? We all made a contribution... and we all hope that there will be a future where cancer doesn't rule our lives and deaths. I hope and pray that cures for all the different types of cancer will be found in the not too distant future, and that anyone who has cancer today might be helped by those discoveries. I hope, also, that there is a future for our children where the word 'cancer' doesn't strike up any more fear than the common cold - wouldn't that be cool? A world where you can go to the doctor with cancer, and (s)he would prescribe a medicine that would just reduce it within a week? Or, even better, where you could be vaccinated against it as any other illness...

The next post I do will be after the deed tomorrow - Wednesday- or rather, later today!!!

I hope to have pictures. I hope to have a video. I'll see what I can do. I know there's a lot of people who won't be able to be there. Hopefully, you can see what happens... I'll do my best, OK?

Sunday, December 17, 2006

3 days - hair down...

...ready to go!

Only 3 days to go... so my hair's come down again, ready to go :-)

My friend, Julia, came over yesterday, and we went back to a few places we used to build camps and stuff. It was really weird to see our old haunts - especially the place we built a huge stick and fern village, cutting steps into all the surrounding slopes, and scrumping apples from the nearby orchard... We spent a whole summer at this one!

Across fields...

...over gates...

We just had such a lot of fun exploring and remembering. And it was the perfect visit for the perfect time.

Afterwards we had a cuppa, and Julia took off her hat, revealing her baldy head. We had a little laugh over the fact I'd also be bald in a few days... and the afternoon reminded me exactly why I was doing this.

I'm going to stand side by side with my friend, bald as a baby, in the not too distant future... £1000 is going to Cancer Research UK... and I've learned a lot through the experience.

Just before Christmas (21st December I believe) Julia gets the results of the latest scans to find out how the chemo's going - Good luck my friend!!

By the way, it's not too late to donate - it all goes to Cancer Research UK !! The website is at